-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A Pennsylvania Methodist minister who was defrocked this week for performing a same-sex wedding said Friday he felt compelled to break church doctrine because it was an `` act of love '' for his son .

When Frank Schaefer 's son was in his teens , he was suicidal , torn by sadness that the church would think less of him for being gay , Schaefer said Friday on CNN 's `` New Day . ''

When their son told his parents he was gay , the Schaefers recognized his pain and chose to embrace him . `` My wife and I said , ` Look , there 's nothing wrong with you . This is the way you were created , ' '' Schaefer said on `` New Day . ''

`` Obviously , he did n't choose this because he prayed to God to make him , quote-unquote , ` normal . ' And when that did n't happen , he really went through this crisis , '' the minister explained .

Years later , in 2007 , Schaefer 's son asked his father to perform his wedding .

`` For me , to say no to him ... it would have denied everything we ever told him in terms of affirmations and love that we gave him , '' Schaefer said .

The minister knew that performing the ceremony was going to stoke the ire of his superiors and that it was against church doctrine . So he was upfront with church officials . He told them .

For six years , he did n't hear a word about the incident . Then , apparently , someone in the church filed a complaint about him this year .

On Thursday , the minister at Zion United Methodist Church of Iona in the small town of Lebanon was found guilty in a church trial for officiating his son 's same-sex wedding , church officials said .

The verdict came after a jury of 13 clergy members determined in November that the minister had been disobedient to the discipline and order of the church .

After that determination came a 30-day suspension . The church asked Schaefer to decide whether his advocacy on behalf of the gay community would prevent him from fully complying with church law , according to a statement from Bishop Peggy Johnson of the United Methodist Church .

The church told him that he could retain his standing if he never performed another same-sex wedding again .

Schaefer refused , telling the Board of Ordained Ministry that he could not uphold the church 's Book of Discipline in its entirety because it is discriminatory .

That prompted the church to ask Schaefer to immediately surrender his credentials .

He refused again , forcing church officials to defrock him .

Losing his job shook the minister .

`` Actually , I was in shock , '' he said on `` New Day . '' `` I did n't realize it right away , but my wife told me , when we were in the car , she said , ` Look at your hand , ' and I looked at it . I was shaking . ''

`` It really hit me harder than I thought , '' he continued . `` Look , I mean , six , seven years ago , I was ready to give up my career for my son . I never thought this would ever come back after that long of a time , so I went on ministering . I 'm a pretty effective minister , so I never thought it would come to this . And especially not to the kind of attention that this has gotten nationwide . ''

The incident had received media attention across the globe .

His son was recently interviewed , saying that he feels guilt for what has happened to his father , Schaefer said .

`` I always tell him , ` Do n't feel guilty about this . This really had nothing to do with you . ' This is based on the exclusionary policies of the church . That 's what causes this . We just have to stop the discrimination in the church . ''

The minister said that his views on homosexuality have evolved over the years .

At one point , he believed that it was a sin . But when he went through seminary , he learned about `` different interpretations '' of scripture that addressed homosexuality .

`` By the time my son came out , I would describe myself as tolerant , '' he said .

But eventually , he became a `` silent supporter '' of his son , and once someone complained about the performance of his son 's wedding , he decided to be vocal and open about his feelings .

His church is divided , he said , and he 's lost friendships . It has been a `` painful process . ''

But he wants to remain in the Methodist Church and work for change from within .

He said he has already filed an appeal and hopes to become reinstated to the Methodist clergy .

Schaefer 's case will be reviewed by the appeals committee of the United Methodist Church 's northeast jurisdiction . It could also go to the judicial council , which is equivalent to the supreme court of the church , according to Schaefer 's attorney , Bill Ewing .

The attorney expects the appeal to be heard in 2015 .

CNN 's Rande Iaboni contributed to this report .

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Methodist minister says he performed son 's gay wedding

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He says denying that request would have been denying the love he 's shown his son

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Frank Schaefer was defrocked after a jury of 13 clergy found he 'd violated church doctrine